Tag: local councils

Some reason to celebrate
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Among a number of pre-Jubilee announcements made yesterday, the Government quietly published the long-awaited draft regulations on the suitability of private rented accommodation offered to homeless people.

The Localism Act 2011 will soon allow councils to offer a twelve month private letting to homeless households in order to discharge their duty to provide a settled home. During the passage of the bill, parliamentarians and organisations like Shelter and Crisis argued that, given the poor quality of much private rented housing … Read more

Exporting homelessness
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This morning was one of those moments when policy wonks start jumping up and down and shouting at the radio. This tends to happen when an issue we’ve been trying desperately to get some publicity for suddenly hits the news – usually because the bad thing we’ve been warning would happen, has happened.

It’s very frustrating to be told that a story is not news until the disaster has actually occurred. Astronomers take note – the media won’t be interested … Read more

Will the NPPF deliver on affordable housing?
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Today the Government finally published the detail of its new National Planning Policy Framework. It is a welcome recognition by the government that we need more homes, and building more homes is good for the economy.

During the messy row over the draft version, Shelter called for the framework to bring about the delivery of homes in the right places, of the right type and at the right price to alleviate housing need. So will it deliver genuinely affordable … Read more

2012: a game changer of a year
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For many in the housing world, 2012 represents the first year of a totally rewritten policy environment.

In 2011, the Government unveiled some of the most radical changes to housing policy in a generation.  The Localism Act alone including reforms to the allocation, funding and tenancy arrangements for social housing, as well as tenancy deposits for private renters and planning law, to name but a few.  DCLG have produced a handy ‘plain English’ guide to the Act outlining more about … Read more